As the talking and Ryoko's slight giggling died down, I thought about what to do.
"As of right now...we need to think of a timeline." I began. "Ignore any suspicion or accusations you may have or be thinking of and just go through the events and their order."
"Good idea." Satoshi nodded. "An idea of when this whole ordeal started will be useful. That way we can pinpoint what happened, where and when."
"Exactly." I grinned. "We just need to determine what happened."
"And how do you suggest on composing this timeline of yours, Chiyo?" Ryoko asked, intrigued.
"By figuring out the first thing that occurred, duh," I answered her, rolling my eyes.
-
Non-Stop Debate
Truth Bullet: Spiders
-
Kokoro: Well, first of all...
Kokoro: The killer had to set up their trap!
Kenjiro: That must be correct...Preparing the light and stage would take some time.
Shouko: They also murdered Finn at that time too!
Shouko: Not to even mention his crime scene...
Satoshi: And then a distraction occurred.
Satoshi: Something that led most of us to the theatre for part two of this crime to take places
"I agree with that!"
-
"Satoshi hit it right on the head again." I nodded along to what he had been saying. "All of us that were outside with me before the body discovery announcement know what I mean."
"You mean...the spiders?" Shouko tilted her head in confusion.
"Spiders? Huh?!?" Kokoro gasped, not having a clue of what we were going on about. "I think I missed a couple of chapters...since when were Finn's pets involved?"
"Since the beginning," I explained. "The killer used Finn's little bugs to wake me up in my room. They probably knew about my fear, so exploited it to get the others to arrive too!"
Ryoko then spoke up. "Ah, I see...By Chiyo screaming and creating a group for her to investigate with, it means more people can go to the theatre where the murders actually took place! With that, a person would eventually end up on the stage to be killed."
"I-I get it now!" Yuna realised. "So the spiders were just bait then?"
"Exactly. Bait for me to drag myself and almost everyone to a damn crime scene." I clenched my fists.
"Still pretty gross bait though." Kairi shivered in her place. "Being attacked in your own room by three spiders is not fun at all."
"At least you get it," I mumbled to myself.
"S-So...the spider tank was dropped anyway into Chiyo's lab." Shouko gave a brief summary. "Giving the group time to go to the theatre searching for Finn..."
"Exciting, isn't it?" Ryoko wistfully sighed, glancing off into the distance while fiddling with a curl of her ash blonde hair that hung down her shoulder. "What a shame he was already long gone at this point. Maybe if he was discovered first I would care more...But how interesting."
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked Ryoko, giving her a slightly piercing stare to remind her about no funny business.
"I was just thinking...I remember the glass tank being smashed at about 2 am." She began. "I remember the sound vividly...Chiyo only woke up later of course. She was fast asleep until the spiders got on her face."
"Huh? How do you know that?" Kairi folded her arms.
"I heard it of course." She smirked.
"You know what I mean!"
"Hm. I was outside, that's all." She shrugged. "I simply couldn't sleep, I thought some fresh air would do me good."
"And why didn't you do anything about the sound...?" Satoshi asked.
"That's none of my business. Didn't sound too interesting either." She admitted.
"Since when do you care about staying out of people's business?" I mumbled.
"But anyway...I think it's quite intriguing." Ryoko continued, returning back to her original topic.
"And by that...y-you mean?" Kenjiro wondered, fiddling with the ends of his scarf.
"I mean, think back to Finn's time of death. If he died at 1:59 am while the glass shattered around 2...well that's just impossible, isn't it?" She hummed, explaining her point. "There's no way the culprit could have killed Finn and gotten back to the cabins in time to smash the tank. Not unless they were superhuman."
"What if they were really fast?" Kokoro suggested. "Like Tatsuo! Or...Chiyo! She's super speedy with her strong legs!"
"What the...Are you accusing me right now? That's stupid!" I argued.
"W-Wait! I...I didn't mean it like that!" Kokoro exclaimed, quickly taking back what she said. "I'm sorry Chiyo...I just wanted to compliment your legs!"
"It's...fine." I sighed.
"That's impossible anyway." Satoshi chimed in. "The tanks were way too heavy. No one could have carried it in less than a minute."
"Maybe you're just weak," Kairi suggested.
"Why does everyone keep saying that...?" Satoshi murmured, dejected.
"So...How did the glass break and Finn die all in almost a minute?" Shouko wondered.
"Well, it's simple really! I'm surprised you haven't realised yet." Ryoko giggled. "There are two killers of course!"
"S-Seriously?!?" Yuna stuttered.
"Why, obviously there is!" She continued. "One person smashed that tank into poor little Chiyo's room. Meanwhile, the other ruthlessly killed Finn!"
"Actually," I spoke up. "Ryoko is right."
"For real?" Kairi wondered.
"Yeah. Shocking, I know." I rolled my eyes. "But there actually is proof to support what Ryoko is saying."
"Oh, is there now?" She perked up, leaning over her podium to flutter her eyelashes at me. "Do enlighten me Chiyo. What is this evidence that you're referring to?"
-
Select Truth Bullet
> Fingerprints <
"That should prove it!"
-
"The pair of fingerprints." I bluntly said. "In Finn's lab. Those prints tell us whether it was one or not."
"Prints, you say?" Ryoko tilted her head. "So Satoshi is helping after all! Who would have guessed?"
"C-Can you just try to not insult me for at least an hour?" He looked down, avoiding anyone's gaze by stammering.
"No promises." The chess grandmaster smirked.
"Anyway," I cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention. "Satoshi could only find one set of fully fledged fingerprints. Isn't that right?"
"Yes." he nodded with a deep sigh. "Despite all my scanning and dusting, I could only find the killer's prints on the machinery."
"Then how does that prove your idea?" Kairi questioned us.
"You might be confused right now, but trust me. You'll get it." I reassured her.
"I...really don't." Shouko admired. "If there's only one set of fingerprints, surely that means there's only one blackened."
"On the contrary." I led everyone. "If there were only one blackened, then the prints wouldn't make sense at all. On the skateboard, Satoshi said there were clear fingerprints from when the murderer knocked him out. However...on other items where you would expect fingerprints to be, like on the table or pills, there are none."
"Right." Satoshi nodded. "The only prints I found on those were Finn's, but those must have been from days ago at this point."
"It really doesn't make sense then." Kenjiro thought out loud. "D-Did the killer put gloves on halfway through?"
"That's just...dumb." I facepalmed.
"So then there really were two killers!" Kokoro exclaimed. "But the second one remembered to wear gloves. How sneaky."
"But...How do we differentiate between the two now?" Shouko wondered. "Without talking about their fingerprints."
"We just need to determine which murderer was responsible for what then." I nodded to myself, thinking. "Let's see...If the pills in Finn's mouth and the table he was killed on had no fingerprints other than his own, then it's easy to say that the culprit with gloves killed Finn, no?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Satoshi nodded. "The other killer without any gloves must be responsible for Akihiro's death then. It's not like they really cared about leaving prints anyway...they just had to press a button on a remote control."
"Ah, now it's not as complicated as before." Kokoro smiled. "I kind of get it now!"
"That's good." I grinned. "But now with that information, we need to start thinking of people who could be suspicious..."
"Well, anyone with gloves should be a suspect then!" Kairi argued.
"No, I mean suspicious people throughout the case as a whole." I sighed. "And besides, that would be Finn's killer, not Akihiro's. And as of right now, Aki's murderer is our top priority."
"Yeah...our life is on the line." Satoshi nodded. "But we'll still find Finn's killer sooner or later. No matter who it is."
"Correct." I agreed with him.
But finding suspects...that shouldn't be too hard. Already, I can split the rest of us into two distinct groups...and one of those groups is particularly suspicious to me.
-
Non-Stop Debate
Truth Bullet: Shouko's Account
-
Kairi: Suspects, huh?
Kairi: I know some of you lot went to the theatre, so maybe that's got to do with it?
Shouko: Everyone except Kairi, Yuna and Kokoro went to the theatre.
Shouko: And Finn was already dead...
Yuna: So the people who went to the theatre are suspects!
"No, that's wrong!"
-
"Huh?" Yuna paused. "What do you mean...?"
"You're wrong. That's what I mean." I crossed my arms and explained. "Anyone who was not at the theatre at the time of Akihiro's death is suspicious."
"Huh? But how is that possible?" Kairi interjected.
"Well, thanks to Akihiro's handbook, we know that no one was on the walkway during Aki's death." I continued. "All of us in the theatre are accounted for by each other. And Kenjiro was never caught on the camera. So we're all safe."
"Are you saying that...a-anyone who stayed in their cabin could be the culprit?" Kenjiro realised.
"Exactly." I firmly nodded and then with my finger, pointed out three suspects. "Kokoro. Kairi. Yuna. One of those three is behind Akihiro's murder."
Kokoro just gasped. "N-No! I couldn't have done this! I...I would never!" She cried.
"Take it easy, I'm not accusing anyone yet. Just...pointing out people of suspicion." I shrugged.
"So somebody from their cabin used Yuna's remote to move the spotlight. Then, without being at the theatre, the culprit would have therefore caused it to fall and...kill Aki." Satoshi summarised.
"Right. Just like that-"
"Cut the cameras!"
"H-Huh?!?" I paused after being interrupted by a shout.
Looking over to my left, I saw that the exclamation had come from Yuna, who had her hands clenched and a desperate expression on her face.
"Chiyo...You have to think straight!" She argued.
"Think...straight? What the hell?!?" I just stared back at her.
"If someone who was in their cabin killed Akihiro, then just how would that work?" She asked. "Did they just guess? Of course not, that's impossible!"
"But there was another way!" I tried to argue.
"No, just listen to me for a moment!" She pleaded before beginning her side of the debate. "There is no way they would have known."
Yuna is wrong again. I know that...
But I just need to show her that! By doing that...She will finally understand. And that way, we can be one step closer to solving this whole case.
-
Rebuttal Showdown
Truth Blade: Camera Broadcast
-
Yuna: Chiyo, you need to think this through.
Yuna: None of this would make any sense...
Yuna:...If someone from the cabins was behind it.
Yuna: They wouldn't see a thing at all.
Yuna: So there's no way they could commit murder.
-
Chiyo: But that's not right now, is it?
Chiyo: Everyone in their cabins had a clear way to watch the whole thing.
Chiyo: And by that logic, they could have effortlessly crushed Aki.
-
Yuna: Chiyo, that can't be it!
Yuna: All three of us suspects just can't be the killer.
Yuna: Kokoro, Yuna, Kairi...
Yuna: All three of those names are absolutely spotless!
Yuna: None of us would have seen a thing-
"I'll cut through those words!"
-
"You're not thinking clearly." I took a deep breath and began to speak to her. "You need to understand that the killer had the best view of the entire scene."
"H-How is that even possible?" Shouko wondered.
"Well, you should be thanking Akihiro for it. It was his idea after all." I mentioned.
"You mean...?" Kairi railed off.
"Ah! You're talking about the camera. Aren't you, my dear!" Ryoko chimed in, completely stealing my answer as if she read my mind.
"...Yeah, I am," I answered. "And shut it you!"
"Oh my! Chiyo...that really hurts my aching heart you know!" She overreacted, dramatically sighing.
"But yes. Akihiro's camera caused his death." I summed up while ignoring Ryoko. "When the main camera is on, it can broadcast whatever it wanted to all the campers through their handbooks with no restrictions."
"Not only that...But the camera had been left on." Satoshi added. "This morning, Akihiro insisted that it was off."
"So you're saying that someone switched it on last night?!?" Kokoro gasped. "That way, when the time came, they could just press the button. Everyone in the cabins would be able to see it all. Now we can talk about suspects!"
"Suspects, hm?" Kenjiro folded his arms, deep in thought while stroking his capybara pin. "Nothing has changed at all though."
No...something must have changed now.
Out of our three main suspects, one really stands out...for all the wrong reasons.
I know I protected her before, but that was when we still didn't have a firm grasp on the case. Now that we do, we can narrow it down into one blackened.
And the coincidences are much too ignored. From her reactions to her remote control and even her gloves and relationship with Akihiro at the time of his death...
She might not be the killer, but she's definitely someone who we have to focus on.
-
Select Someone
> Yuna Nakano <
"This is it!"
-
"Yuna is a big suspect," I said.
Upon the sound of my accusation, the room when silent, their heads now fixated on the girl as she stammered with now newfound attention on her.
"H-Huh...?" She wordlessly said, not believing the argument that I revealed to the rest of us. "M...Me?!? I'm the killer?!?"
"Yes. Well, for the time being, or unless we get any bigger suspicious guys around here. But yeah, so far it all matches you quite well." I informed her.
"H-How?!? She stammered craving answers and wincing under all of this newfound attention on her, some of us watching with concern while others (namely Ryoko) just watched for the hell of it.
"Well, where do I even begin with all of this..." I sighed. "There are just so many reasons."
"What...What do you mean when you say many?!?" She gasped, though slightly seemed to be extremely confused.
"You were in possession of the remote control used to move the spotlight." I began. "And you managed to drop it while storming off earlier. Luckily, Kenjiro caught it."
"S-Sorry Yuna." He sighed.
"What...What are you saying?!?" She exclaimed, not believing a word.
"Then there's also the fact that you wear gloves. Maybe if you weren't behind Akihiro's death, you could have killed Finn." I continued.
"Stop...S-Stop saying such things!"
"And then...there's your relationship with Akihiro before he died. You weren't exactly a fan of him." I concluded. "Being in your cabin gave you access to your handbook, right? That means it could possibly be you."
"My, Chiyo." Ryoko giggled. "I thought it was too early for accusations. Yet here you are with this whole exposé on poor little Yuna Nakano."
"I-I'm just pointing out people of suspicion." I defended myself. "You do the same thing!"
"And didn't you say anyone could have had the remote?" Ryoko further interrogated me.
"I did. But that doesn't mean Yuna still couldn't have had it. She's just as likely to as the rest of us." I said.
All eyes were on Yuna now as she shook, shaking her head.
"N-No...You guys! I'm innocent! You know I'd never do this...You know that!" She pleaded, her voice trembling as she clasped her hands.
"...But you c-can't deny you're suspicious." Kenjiro pointed out, watching her actions.
"Yuna." Shouko glared at the girl. "Did you really kill Akihiro?!?"
"W...What?!?" She exclaimed, widening her eyes at the flurry of accusations and stares. "No, no...no! S-Stop looking at me like that! All of you!"
In the midst of the chaos, I saw one girl who had stayed silent.
Kairi.
The sailor was watching her closest friend break down upon suspicion, the doubts of others crushing her. Kairi opened her mouth to say something but stopped.
When Yuna's head lifted up, her eyes landed on Kairi, a small smile appearing on her face.
"K-Kairi...Kairi!" Yuna's breaths calmed down upon seeing her.
Kairi seemed to be...Yuna's glimmer of hope at this moment. All Kairi did was protect Yuna after all.
"Kairi!" Yuna repeated, reaching out for the girl. "You know I'm innocent...You know I c-can't be the killer!" She begged. "So tell them it's all a coincidence! J-Just tell them that!"
"Yuna..." Kairi finally spoke, her hand hesitated to reach for Yuna's.
After much thought, Kairi's hand lowered however, taking the form of a fist. Her eyes glared and her eyebrows furrowed at the desperate girl.
"Yuna...What the hell is wrong with you?!?" Kairi responded, clearly distressed.
"H...H-Huh?" The light in Yuna's eyes faded.
Her glimmer of hope, Kairi had...doubted her.
"Seriously!" Kairi continued. "I can't keep you defending you anymore! Not with all of this evidence against you."
"K-Kairi!" Yuna yelled. "What are you saying?!? You know it's-"
"This...This is honestly embarrassing!" The sailor ignored her friend's pleas, attempting to reason with her instead. "With everyone now knowing you're the culprit, just admit it. Denying it like this is just humiliating you!"
"Humiliating?" Yuna stood back, her hands lowering.
"I just...can't believe you would do something as malicious as this..." Kairi sighed.
"No...No! Kairi, tell them!" Yuna clenched her eyes shut and cried. "We were together last night! Y-You have to-"
"Don't get me involved in your business!" Kairi shut her down. "It's too late. You've dug your grave already!"
"No..." Yuna shook her head. "No, no! I'm innocent, I swear! P-Please..."
As I watched the scene unfold, I felt a bizarre sensation in my gut.
What if Yuna...was right? What if this whole time, Yuna was never suspicious to begin with?
But she's involved so much in this case. Yet still.
What if Yuna is innocent after all?
With this newfound gut feeling, I glanced toward the crowd and ignored their senseless cheers.
"Yuna may still be innocent though." I then said, most of the others now watching.
"Huh!?!" Kenjiro slumped over at my words.
"But...You accused her first." Shouko pointed out.
"Y-Yeah, I did. But..." I attempted to defend myself. "I was just pointing Yuna out! Kokoro and Kairi are still suspicious."
"Hey!" the sailor glared.
"I'm not the killer!" Kokoro exclaimed.
"I never said you were!" I sighed.
"But...I-I don't like accusing people I trust...and I trust Yuna!" Kokoro then smiled. "She'd never kill Akihiro, no matter if she hated him or not!"
"I...I never said I hated him!" Yuna mentioned.
"Well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?" Ryoko rolled her eyes at Kokoro's words. "So innocent..."
"I agree with Chiyo." Satoshi firmly said. "There are...other suspects we should consider."
"Then it's a shame." Kenjiro crossed his arms. "It seems we're split on who to believe-"
"You said it." Monokuma perked up.
"H-Huh?" The psychologist lifted his head. "Oh no."
"He said the thing! And what perfect timing too! You guys are split on who to settle on, huh?" Monokuma laughed. "It's perfect that I have just the thing for this!"
"Please don't lift us up in the air again," I mumbled.
"It's time for the one, the only...The Morphenomenal Trial Grounds!" Monokuma ignored my hopes immediately and growled into roaring laughter.
I quickly grabbed onto the bannisters of my podium for safety as Monokuma manifested the large key in his hands, inserting it to begin.
Once again, the entire court began to shift as our stands moved to face each other again for a debate.
The heights aren't that bad...I just need to convince everyone to go easy on Yuna for now! With Satoshi on my side, I think we might actually win this...
I hope at least.
-
- Scrum Debate: Begin! -
Should we vote for Yuna?
She's the culprit:
- Kairi
- Kenjiro
- Shouko
- Ryoko
-
We need to wait:
- Chiyo
- Satoshi
- Yuna
- Kokoro
-
- Begin! -
-
-
Kairi: Yuna had access to that remote...She could've crushed Aki!
"Satoshi, go ahead!"
Satoshi: Anyone could have had the remote! We're limiting ourselves by focusing on Yuna!
-
Kenjiro: Yuna had a clear motive...S-She wasn't fond of Akihiro after all.
"Tell them, Kokoro!"
Kokoro: Yuna would never! She might not be fond of him, but she'd never kill him!
-
Ryoko: With her gloves, I'm sure it was an easy task for her.
"Yuna, have at it!"
Yuna: N-No way...You have gloves too you know!
-
Shouko: Her defensiveness...That means she murdered Aki, right?!?
"Satoshi, go ahead!"
Satoshi: I'm sure if you were accused of murder, you'd get defensive too. I...know too much about how that feels.
-
Kairi: And why do you insist she may be innocent?!? Is this what...a gut feeling or something?
"I got it!"
Chiyo: So what if it's a gut feeling? Focusing on other possible culprits is better than us all dying.
-
"This is our answer!"
-
Our podiums returned to normal as I took a deep breath.
"So now do you guys understand why we need to look into other people?" I spoke. "Are you done being idiots?"
"...I still have doubts," Kenjiro admitted. "B-But I can be wrong."
"...As long as Akihiro's killer is found." Shouko lowered her head.
"I don't really care. I'm here for the journey, not the destination! Or in this case, the final verdict." Ryoko chuckled.
Kairi remained silent, her fists still clenched with that same harrowing expression.
And that's when it hit me.
Instead of being focused on Yuna this whole time...We should've been looking into people around her! And she confirmed it herself. Yuna and her were together the whole night.
That gives her plenty of chances to use Yuna's remote. She just had to steal it for a second and return it almost immediately! And if they were in the same cabin...She also could have used Yuna's handbook to check the stage. Or even her own!
I doubt it's Kokoro. There's no way she could've had the remote and I doubt the motive affected her.
But knowing my main suspect and her ideals and true goals beyond these camp walls...She'd hate a life confined here.
It...has to be her.
But would she really betray her friend?
What am I saying?!? She already has by throwing Yuna under the bus! And that just gives me more reason to suspect her.
"I know who it is." I finally spoke, interrupting the others who were deep in conversation during my thoughts.
"Finally you wake up Chiyo." Ryoko tilted her head with a smile. "Your face was so blank for a solid period of time. I wonder what's going on in that brain of yours."
Shit...I was thinking for a while, huh?
"Y-You...actually know?" Yuna widened her eyes. "Who?!? Who tried to frame me?"
"Um...You're not going to like it-"
"I don't care!" She exclaimed. "I-I...I need to know."
"Tell us, Chiyo," Satoshi spoke up. "Who killed Akihiro?"
"Right. Put an end to this mystery." Shouko added. "For...Akihiro and Finn."
My friends have a point. I need to reveal the truth.
Not just for our lives, but for justice.
-
Select Someone
> Kairi Kiyomizu <
"You're behind this, aren't you?"
-